Urban stress is associated with variation in microbial species composition-but not richness-in Manhattan.

ABSTRACT: The biological diversity and composition of microorganisms influences both human health outcomes and ecological processes; therefore, understanding the factors that influence microbial biodiversity is key to creating healthy, functional landscapes in which to live. In general, biological diversity is predicted to be limited by habitat size, which for green areas is often reduced in cities, and by chronic disturbance (stress). These hypotheses have not previously been tested in microbial systems in direct comparison to macroorganisms. Here we analyzed bacterial, fungal and ant communities in small road medians (average area 0.0008 km(2)) and larger parks (average area 0.64 km(2)) across Manhattan (NYC). Bacterial species richness was not significantly different between medians and parks, bu

SUBMITTER: Reese AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4817683 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature